Chapter twenty-seven

The next day, Ryder woke up pretty annoyed because of what happened between him and his father last night during dinner. He knew he might have saddened his mother because he left when she just wanted to spend time with him. He felt a little selfish but he just couldn't stand his father.

He got ready for school and took a quick shower. He ate some breakfast and before he left, Rina came down to prepare herself some toast.

"Good morning." Ryder greeted grabbing his backpack on the couch.

"How are you?" She asked making a cup of coffee.

"Fine."

"Ry, that's not what I mean." She sighed.

"Then, what do you mean?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion.

"I meant how are you? Remember, last night?" She asked slowly.

"Rina, I really don't want to discuss this right now. Besides, I'll be late if I don't leave now." He said trying to get out of the conversation.

"Since when did you care if you were late for school. Come on, Ry, I know the subject must be touchy but you still have to tell me sooner or later."

"Then I prefer later. See you!" He waved his hand goodbye but before he could press the elevator button, Rina stopped her.

"Stop! I'm serious, Ryder. I'm not joking."

"Neither am I. Just let it go, Rina."

"I can't. You know why? Because you're hurting mom. She was really upset last night." She informed him.

"It's not all my fault. Don't put all the blame on me." He said feeling the guilt eat him up. His mother was a touchy subject to her. He didn't want to see her mother upset especially if it is because of him.

"I'm not, why can't you and dad put everything aside just for one night? Can you do that? For mom. And even if you hate dad, he will forever be your father and there is nothing to change that now."

"Why are you defending him, Rina? May I just remind you that he is the reason why you are thousands of miles away from us." He reasoned trying to turn the tables around. He knew that the topic about his mother was too much for him to take. He couldn't bare to see her upset.

"I'm not defending him. But, Ry, I forgave him for doing that. He made me a better person by doing that. Besides, it was my punishment and I learned from it. It was safer that way." She explained shooting him a sad smile. He knew that her sister went through a lot. The least thing he wanted to see was seeing the most two important women in his life. His mother and his sister.

He let out a sighed and muttered: "Rina, I really gotta go. I'll see you later. Don't go anywhere without telling me." He said as he pressed the elevator door and went to the underground parking lot to get his car and go to school. He was never been this excited to go to school before but he knew why he was eager to.

A certain grey-eyed girl, that's for sure. That was the only reason why he was so eager to go to school. To see the girl that he missed so much even if they saw each other yesterday. Ryder didn't know how he liked her in nearly two weeks. It was insane. He never liked a girl that fast before. He remembered that he only started liking Lily after two months. But now with Andrea, it was faster than he thought. It was just, Andrea was so gentle and she didn't judge him in any way. He felt comfortable with her.

Ryder was so drawn to his thoughts that he didn't even noticed that he was already at school. He only realized when the car came to a halt in the parking lot. How he managed driving and not getting into an accident was a complete mystery for him.

He got out of his precious car and made his way to his locker to get his books. For the first time in history, Ryder felt the want to go to class. Now that was a shocker. He made his way before the bell rang. He scanned the room seeing Andrea on the corner of the room with her desk isolated from everybody else.

He made his way to her as she was completely oblivious of his presence. She was too busy and intrigued with her book she didn't even notice him. Ryder silently pushed the desk beside her and sat down. She still didn't notice him. Wow, that book must be really something.

When the bell rang and Mr. Dee entered the class, Andrea finally noticed Ryder and she was a little surprise because of his closeness. His desk was touching hers and it was way too close for her comfort.

Ryder eyes her in the corner of his eye but ignored her presence. He wanted her to do the talking first. He wondered what she will say to her.

"Good morning, class!" Mr. Dee started. "Today is another free period for your big upcoming project. I want you to go to your partner and get to know them. This will be a great time to ask them questions and make new friends. Don't waste any more time. Time is gold people. Now go to work!" He said as he sat on his chair and started grading papers.

The class started shuffling and everyone was with their partner getting to know each other. Katie, being the gossip girl she was, she sat a row behind Ryder and Andrea. She wanted to hear whatever they might talk about. She couldn't help but think that they really do look cute together.

Andrea sheepishly glanced at Ryder under her lashes but said nothing. She didn't really know what to say to him. What if yesterday was nothing for him? What if he realized that he didn't really like her? What if he thought that the kiss was yet another mistake of his? Oh, she really hated 'what ifs.'

'Why wouldn't he talk?!' Andrea thought frustratedly.

"Ms. Carson!" Mr. Dee called to her as she looked up to him. "Can I talk to you for a minute, please?" He said beckoning her to his desk. She gently made her way to the front and stand in front of his desk.

"What is it, Mr. Dee?" She asked him politely.

"You probably don't know this, and you might even hate me why I did it, but it wasn't an accident you and Ryder are partners for this project." He explained as she looked at him flabbergasted.

"I don't get it..." She said slowly asking him for more information.

"Andrea, you're my best student and you know that. You are shy and quiet which is the total opposite of Ryder. But I know that there is the potential in you to bring the old Ryder back." He stated giving a quick glance at Ryder who was now writing something on a paper.

"The old Ryder? Mr. Dee, I have no idea what you're saying." She admitted regarding her teacher carefully to fully understand him. What did he mean by 'old Ryder?' Wasn't Ryder always like this? Guess not.

"I've known Ryder since he was a child. I am actually a close friend of his father. I've seen him grow up and he wasn't like this before. He was always jolly, enthusiastic and friendly. But along the way, I guess you could say that something sucked the life out of him. He might act like a bad boy, but I know that the old Ryder is still inside hiding. Andrea, I know that this might be confusing you but I am positive that you could bring the old him back. Just try your hardest to get to know him. I'm sure it'll be all worth it." He said shooting her a reassuring smile.

"I mean, look at him." He said nodding towards Ryder who was still oblivious that they were talking about him. Andrea glanced at Ryder for a second and looked back to Mr. Dee when he said: "He was never early to class. I'm surprise his here on time today. And it's all because of you."

Andrea stared at his professor like he was insane. Was it true? Was Ryder really changing because of her? She couldn't believe it. And Ryder used to be enthusiastic and FRIENDLY?! She definitely didn't believe that! The world was going crazy!

"You'll understand soon enough." Mr. Dee said when he saw the confusion in her face. "You can go back and get to know Ryder more. Keep up the good work." He demanded as Andrea hesitantly went back her desk. She was now kind of nervous that Mr. Dee was watching them and he was probably just pretending to be grading papers.

She sat back down as Ryder studied her curiously. He knew something was up since she was ignoring him and not making eye contact.

"Hey." He finally said forgetting about his plan of her talking to him first. "I wrote something. Wanna read it?" He asked sliding his notebook in front of her. She glanced up at him for barely a second and looked back down to his notebook.

She then began reading:

My partner for this project is Andrea Carson. She's quiet, shy and, as the popular would classify her, a nerd. She always hide behind her books and spend her time in the library. She's intelligent and very down to earth.

Even though the students of Richmond High thinks she's just a plain nerd, I think she's awesome. There is more than just being a nerd behind those goofy glasses. And this is who the real Andrea is...

Andrea felt her heart skipping a beat as she read his work. But then it stopped there and she kind of felt disappointed. She wanted to read more of his work but it ended there. She tried to think of ideas on how Ryder sees her as.

"I stopped it there because I want it to be a surprise when I read it in front of the whole class." He stated as a smile formed on his lips. He took the notebook back and all Andrea could do was stare at him. Stare at him in awe. She didn't really know if she believed him or not. After all, he might be lying considering he was a bad boy.

"Thanks... for showing it to me." She mumbled sheepishly as her cheeks flushed to red. She continued to bow her head letting her hair fall on her face so that Ryder wouldn't be able to see her blushing.

"No problem. We should probably continue that game of ours where we ask each other questions and if it's too personal we pass. Do you want to do that or do you have another suggestion on what we could do to get to know each other?" Ryder asked looking down at her bowed head.

"Um... Let's just go with yours." She said quickly taking her notebook out of her bag without letting him see her. Ryder thought what caused her to have a sudden change of her mood, but let it go for now. Mr. Dee must have told her something that she didn't like. Whatever it was, he was about to find out sooner or later.